Summary

In the U.S., original episodes of season six aired between February 2, 2010 and May 23, 2010. For airdates on other networks and in other countries, see Airdates. It was originally intended to include 16 episodes, but due to the 2007 WGA strike and producer requests, it comprised of 18 and 1/2 produced hours in 16 broadcasts with the first episode being 2 hours long and the last episode being 2 and 1/2 hours long. During the last episode, fans wrote in to the show and posted comments during the commercial breaks about what they enjoyed, or catchy phrases that they thought of for their last 6 years of watching the show. [1]

Main plot points

Season Six centered around the consequences of the detonation of the hydrogen bomb, in an attempt to change the past.

Referred to as the flash sideways, this place shows the passengers of Oceanic Flight 815 as well as several other main characters reunite and come to terms with their respective lives and deaths and move on into the afterlife.

Desmond's status

Entering Season 6, Henry Ian Cusick was not listed as a principal cast member on any of the show's press releases through ABC Medianet. He was also not present in any of the new character specific promotional photos for the new season. This led many to believe that with Desmond's decreased role in the show he had been downgraded to a guest star but when "LA X, Parts 1 & 2" aired he was credited as a principal cast member. When "What Kate Does" aired he was also credited despite not appearing in the episode, meaning that this is non episode specific and similar to Kiele Sanchez and Rodrigo Santoro in season 3, Jeremy Davies and Ken Leung in season 4, or Rebecca Mader in seasons 4 and 5. Promotional photos featuring Desmond were released following the airing of "The Package", though he was still absent from the group cast photos. When asked during an interview why he wasn't in the final cast photo, Cusick asserted that "It means that I am not a season regular this season, I’m only guesting. All those pictures, they are with regular characters, and this season I’m not one."[2]

"Across the Sea" becomes the first episode to feature no main characters in new scenes.

The record of five centric episodes in one season (set by Jack and Kate in Season 1), was beaten by six characters this season (Jack with 8, Sawyer and Locke with 7, and Sun, Jin and Sayid with 6 each), and further evened by three other (Kate, Hurley and Ben).

This is the only season to kill off more than one of the original season 1 characters, with four Jack, Sun, Jin and Sayid.

The only season to not feature Walt or Aaron in present day timeline, apart from the flash sideways.

Walt becomes the only original season 1 character to not make an appearance this season, apart from archive footage. He did however, appear in the epilogue, "The New Man in Charge". Eko, Nikki and Paulo were the only other former regulars not to appear this season.

Similarities between Season 1 and Season 6

Both the first season and the last season open with a 2-part episode, which are multi-centric.

The sixth episodes of Season 1 ("House of the Rising Sun") and Season 6 ("Sundown") contain the word "Sun" in the title, however this is the first time this season that the centricity is not the same. "House of the Rising Sun" was Sun-centric.

The eighth episodes of Season 1 ("Confidence Man") and Season 6 ("Recon") are Sawyer-centric, and both contain the word "con".

The final scene of Jack dying in the bamboo field in the last episode ("The End") mirrors the opening scene of Lost in reverse. YouTube

Season plot summary

Original timeline (2007)

The survivors, who had been stranded in 1977 awaken in the jungle just after the detonation of Jughead, and find that a resulting time flash has sent them to the present day. They find the Swan station's crater and hear Juliet under the wreckage. After using a DHARMA van to move the debris, they extricate her, but she is beyond medical help and soon dies in Sawyer's arms. Meanwhile, Jacob's ghost appeared to Hurley, and tells him to take Sayid and the others to the Temple, where he can be healed. Sawyer and Miles stay behind to bury Juliet. Miles tells Sawyer of Juliet's intended last words: "It worked"

As Hurley, Jack, Kate, Jin and Sayid reach the Temple, they are taken captive by the Others, who later capture and bring Sawyer and Miles there as well. Dogen, the Temple's leader, finds one of Jacob's lists hidden in an ankh in Hurley's guitar case, with each of their names on it. They take Sayid to be healed in a pool, which has at some recent point been muddied. The Others submerge Sayid in the muddied water and he drowns; they hold him under until a small hourglass empties. Sayid soon wakes up, gasping, "What happened?"

At the Statue, Ben comes out alone to get Richard. Richard shows Ben the dead body of Locke. Bram then grabs Ben and enters the Statue with his team, not including Ilana. The Man in Black then kills Bram and his team and exits the Statue. He knocks Richard unconscious and drags him off into the jungle, shocking Ben, Sun, Frank, Ilana, and the rest of the Others as they all watch on helplessly.

At the Temple, Sayid is tortured by Dogen. They determine that he has been "infected", or "claimed", and try to get Jack to give him a pill ground from some herbs. Jack is suspicious and attempts to take the pill himself, but Dogen kept him from swallowing it. He tells Jack that the pill is poison, and that Claire has been similarly "infected." Later, Hurley tells Dogen that Jacob is dead; as a result the Others scramble into action and prepare to defend their home. Sawyer leaves, securing his exit at gunpoint. Kate and Jin, with the help of two Others, go after him. However, Kate and Jin escape when Kate knocks out the two Others guarding them. Jin goes off on his own to look for Sun, while Kate tracks Sawyer down. Later, the two Others catch up to Jin. After arguing and Jin falling into a mysterious trap in the Jungle, the small group is confronted by the sudden appearance of a wild-looking and gun-toting Claire. Claire takes Jin to her hut where she has been living for three years. Later on, Claire's "friend", the Man in Black, stops by her camp. Elsewhere, Kate tracks Sawyer to DHARMA's submarine dock. Sawyer is distraught over the loss of Juliet and it appears he is finally over his love of Kate. They part ways.

Meanwhile, at the Statue, all the Others have left. Ilana collects Jacob's ashes, then she, Sun, Ben and Frank decide to bury Locke at the survivors' graveyard. At his funeral, Ben declares that he is "sorry that he murdered him."
Meanwhile, The Man in Black lets Richard go when he says he does not want to join the Man in Black's "side." At the Barracks, Sawyer is recruited by the Man in Black in the appearance of John Locke. Sawyer sees through the disguise but agrees to go with him as the Man in Black promises to get him off the Island. The Man in Black leads James to a cave where he finds hundreds of names on the cave wall, most of which have been crossed out, except for 5; Shephard (Jack), Reyes (Hurley), Jarrah (Sayid), Ford (himself) and Kwon (either Jin or Sun).

The Ghost of Jacob appears to Hurley and convinces him to take Jack to the Lighthouse. There, Jack discovers hundreds of names on its wheel, most of them crossed out. Jack sees his childhood home in the mirrors of the lighthouse, which makes Jack so upset he shatters all of them. Later, Jacob tells Hurley that someone bad is coming to the Temple.

At the Temple, Dogen attempts to kill Sayid, but stops at the last second. He then tells Sayid to kill the Man in Black with a dagger. However, Sayid joins forces with the Man in Black. He tells all the people at the Temple that the Man in Black is leaving the Island and those who want to leave should join him before sundown, or be killed. When Kate returns to the Temple, she demands to see Claire. Kate reveals to Claire that she took Aaron off the Island. Sayid kills Dogen and Lennon. The Smoke Monster kills all the Others who did not join him. Miles is saved by Ilana, Frank, Sun, and Ben. Sayid, Claire and Kate then join the Man in Black. Elsewhere, Jack and Hurley continue their journey back from the lighthouse. They then bump into Richard, who tells them of the Massacre. Richard then leads them to the Black Rock, where he tries to kill himself, but fails because of Jacob's "touch."

After leaving the Temple, Ilana, Miles, Sun and Frank and Ben head towards to the Beach Camp. Ilana is suspicious of Ben, and asks Miles to read Jacob's ashes to see who really killed him, and Miles reveals it was Ben. Ilana forces Ben to dig his own grave as punishment for killing Jacob, but she later accepts his sincere apology. Later, Jack, Hurley and Richard arrive and are greeted by Ilana’s group. The group discuss who and what candidates are. Ilana states that Richard knows what to do next, although Richard gets angry and runs off. Hurley tracks him, and thanks to his ability to talk to the dead”, he speaks with his deceased wife, Isabella. Isabella tells Richard and Hurley to stop the Man in Black leaving the Island, or “we all go to hell”. The two return to the beach camp. Sun is in her garden, and the Man in Black confronts her, asking her to join his team. However, Sun runs away, bashing her head in the process. Because of that, she gets aphasia; she can't speak English but can understand it.

The Man in Black’s group arrive at Claire’s Hut. The Man in Black tells Sawyer to visit the Hydra Island, to find out information on the Ajira survivors. He discovers them all to be dead. He finds a woman, Zoe, who is really working for Charles Widmore, who has a submarine on the Island. She takes Sawyer to him, and Sawyer tells Widmore he will bring the Man in Black to him, so Widmore can kill him. Later, he tells all this to the Man in Black. At night, he tells Kate that they are going to steal the submarine and leave. The next day, Claire attempts to kill Kate. Sayid watches unconcerned, and the Man in Black pulls Claire off. Later, Claire apologized for her actions, and they hug, with Claire sobbing on Kate’s shoulder. Later, they are all ambushed by Widmore’s team, who take Jin to Room 23. There, Charles Widmore says that if they don’t stop the Man in Black from leaving the Island, everyone will die. Jin agrees to help Widmore. The Man in Black sends Sayid to see what the package is, and it is revealed to be Desmond.

Desmond wakes up, extremely angry at Widmore for bringing him back to the Island. Widmore and his team are experimenting with electromagnetism. One of Widmore's team is fried as the machine is turned on when he is in the room. Desmond is then taken to the room to be tested to makes sure he can survive an electromagnetic event. He has flashes into the flash sideways timeline. After he wakes up, he is ready to help Widmore and do his "mission." Sayid then ambushes Desmond, Zoe and two other people in the jungle. He kills the two men, lets Zoe run and asks Desmond to come with him. Desmond confidently agrees.

At the Beach Camp, the survivors debate on whether or not to stop the Man in Black from leaving the island by destroying the Ajira plane with dynamite. Ilana gets dynamite from the Black Rock, but is killed when she handles it carelessly. The remaining survivors trek to the Black Rock to get more dynamite, but Hurley destroys it all, along with the ship, after being warned by Michael's ghost that the plan to blow up the plane will get a lot of people killed. The group then divides, with Richard, Ben, and Miles electing to continue the plan to destroy the plane by using grenades from the barracks, while, under the leadership of Hurley, Jack, Sun, and Frank decide to go to the Man in Black to talk things out.

Meanwhile, Sayid brings the Man in Black to Desmond, and the Man in Black puts him in a strange old well. En route they encounter a strange boy, but the Man in Black insists that they ignore him. When he returns to camp, the Man in Black is met with the arrival of Jack, Hurley, Sun, and Frank. The Man in Black tries to convince Jack to join him, and Jack and Claire meet for the first time after learning they are siblings. Sawyer and Kate inform Hurley and Sun of their plan to escape the Island on Widmore's submarine. Zoe arrives at the camp and demands that the Man in Black return Desmond. The Man in Black decides to begin the journey to Hydra Island. Sawyer is ordered to get the sailboat Elizabeth and pick up the Man in Black and his followers to make the trip. Sawyer brings Kate with him and tells Jack to sneak away with Sun, Hurley, and Frank and meet him at the boat. They do so, but are followed by Claire. She joins them on the Elizabeth as they betray the Man in Black and head to Hydra Island without him. On board, Jack decides to abandon the group and jump overboard. The group reaches Hydra Island and is confronted by Zoe and some armed men. Jin and Sun are reunited after three years apart, and Sun's aphasia is gone. Zoe and the gunman order the survivors to their knees, going back on the deal Sawyer made with Widmore. Widmore's group then begins firing artillery at the main island. Sawyer, Kate, Hurley, Claire, Jin, Sun, and Frank are taken to the cages on Hydra Island. Sawyer protests, but gives in when Widmore threatens to kill Kate.

Meanwhile, the Man in Black orders Sayid to kill Desmond, who is still in the well. Later, The Man in Black returns to pick up Sayid, and Sayid tells him that he has killed Desmond. At the rendezvous point, The Man in Black welcomes Jack as he completes his swim back to the main island. Widmore's artillery attack begins, and the Man in Black drags Jack to safety. Jack wakes up on Hydra Island with Sayid and the Man in Black. The Man in Black turns into the smoke monster and attacks the guards at the cages, killing several. Jack frees the captive survivors, and they meet up with Sayid. Together they head to the Ajira Plane. At the plane, The MiB kills two guards and discovers that the plane has been rigged with C4. He tells everyone that Widmore put the C4 there, intending to kill them all. He advises they leave on the sub instead. The survivors lay siege to the sub and board it. Just as Jack pushes The MiB into the water to stop him from boarding, they are interrupted by Widmore's men. Kate is shot, Jack rushes to help her, and they board the sub. Claire and The MiB kill all of the gunmen, but are left behind as the sub leaves the dock and dives.

Aboard the sub, Jack discovers the C4 in his pack, set to detonate. Jack tries to convince Sawyer not to disarm it, believing that the MiB cannot kill them. Sawyer disarms it anyway, and the timer speeds up. With only seconds till it detonates, Sayid picks up the C4, tells Jack that Desmond is alive and where to find him, then heroically charges to the other end of the sub. The C4 detonates, killing Sayid, but sparing the rest of them. Water breaches the sub, and Frank is hit with a metal door as it gives away under the pressure of the water. As the sub floods, Sun is trapped behind debris. Hurley and Kate escape the sub. Sawyer is knocked out by a piece of flying debris. Jin convinces Jack to save Sawyer and leave while he continues trying to free Sun. She tells him save himself, but Jin remains by her side as the sub goes down; they die together.

Back on the beach, Jack, Kate, and Hurley are moved to tears as the loss of their friends sinks in. Meanwhile, the Man in Black tells Claire that the sub has sunk, but that not everyone died. He sets off to finish what he started.

Jack stitches up Kate's gunshot wound on the beach, as Hurley and Sawyer watch the remains of the submarine blast wash ashore. Kate and Jack agree they must kill the Man in Black, but first the four set off to find Desmond in the well, per Sayid's instructions. On the way there, Hurley encounters the mysterious boy (young Jacob), who demands the bag of his ashes which Hurley has. Hurley gives him the ashes, then chases after him, only to find adult Jacob sitting by a burning fire. Jacob instructs Hurley to bring Jack, Kate, and Sawyer to him, which he does. When they arrive, Jacob explains that they only have until the fire burns out before they never see him again. Jacob explains why they were brought to the island and that he is responsible for what happened to the Man in Black. He tells them that one of them must choose to become his replacement to guard the island. Jack immediately volunteers. Jacob takes Jack into the woods, where he whispers a phrase in Latin over a cup of water from the stream, which Jack drinks. Jacob tells Jack that they are now the same. Jacob tells the others that they will have to figure out how to kill the Man in Black, before he kills them.

Ben, Richard, and Miles trek through the jungle to retrieve the C4 Ben has hidden at the barracks. They reach Ben's house to retrieve the C4, which he has hidden in a safe in the secret room behind the bookcase. While in the secret room, they hear something in the kitchen, and discover that Charles Widmore and Zoe have arrived as well. Widmore explains that he was invited back to the island by Jacob, and that he already has wired the Ajira plane with explosives. He sends Zoe down to the dock to sink the outrigger, where she discovers Locke returning from Hydra Island and warns the others by walkie-talkie. Widmore and Zoe hide in Ben's secret room. Ben asks for their walkie-talkies; he gives one to Miles, who runs into the jungle alone. Ben and Richard go outside to wait for the Man in Black. He arrives, in smoke form, grabbing Richard by the throat and slamming him into a tree before punting him into the jungle. Then he appears as Locke and tells Ben that he needs him to kill some people for him. Ben agrees, and gives up the location of Widmore and Zoe. The Man in Black and Ben confront Widmore in the secret room, and the Man in Black slits Zoe's throat. Widmore reveals to the Man in Black that Desmond is Jacob's failsafe to keep the Man in Black on the island. The two whisper for a moment, and Ben shoots Widmore three times, killing him. Ben and the MiB go to the well, where they find that Desmond has already been rescued by someone else. The Man in Black then tells him that he wants to use Desmond to "destroy the island."

Jack, Kate and Hurley then trek to the Heart of the Island while Sawyer heads to rescue Desmond. Sawyer gets caught by Ben while spying on The Man in Black, quickly gets away, telling the MiB that he is "no longer a candidate." The Man in Black then spots dog tracks. Rose, Bernard and Vincent are revealed to be the ones who rescued Desmond. The Man in Black and Ben then arrive and take Desmond. Meanwhile, Miles finds Richard and attempt to contact Ben by walkie-talkie. Richard awakens and the two trek off to Hydra Island to blow up the Ajira Flight 316. On the way to Hydra Island, they encounter the wreckage of the submarine explosion and rescue Frank in the process. Rather than blow up the plane, the three decide to pilot it off the Island.

Sawyer catches up with Jack's group, and tells him MiB's plan of using Desmond to destroy the island. Jack and MiB then meet, prompting Kate to shoot at MiB; the bullets pass through him. He walks up to Jack and confirms that it is he who is now the Island's protector. The two argue about what will happen when they reach the Source: Jack believes he will kills the MiB, and MiB believes he will destroy the Island. Jack, MiB, Kate, Sawyer, Hurley, Ben, and Desmond all head toward the Source. When the group gets close, Locke draws his knife and says it should just be him, Jack and Desmond from here on. Hurley steps up to Jack and says "I believe in you, dude." Outside the Source, Desmond tells Jack that this - killing Locke and destroying the Island - doesn't matter, because once he goes into the cave, he'll go to another place where they can be with the ones they love. Jack replies that he already tried that and that all of this matters. Jack and Locke begin to lower Desmond into the brilliant abyss. The Man in Black notes the similarity between this moment and when they (Jack & Locke) found the Swan station hatch. Jack insists that John was right about almost everything, and wished he got to tell him this when he was still alive. The two continue to argue until Desmond reaches the bottom. Desmond walks through a chamber below, passing several skeletons. He finds the Source, a glowing pool, filled by a small waterfall, with an elongated stone cork at its center. He enters the water as electromagnetic energy emanates. He reaches the center stone and lifts it. The stream from the waterfall stops, the electromagnetic force recedes, the light goes out, the pool dries up and there is a red hot glow emitting from the center. Desmond screams "No!" as an earthquake begins to destroy the Island. Jack chases Locke out of the cave in a fit of fury, punching him in the mouth and jumping on him when he falls. Locke bleeds from the mouth, and the two realize that they are mortal again. Locke finds a rock and hits Jack over the back of the head with it, and gets up and runs off.

The outrigger has reached Hydra island. Miles calls Ben, who is sitting with Sawyer, Kate, and Hurley. Miles informs him they're going to fly off the Island and that Sawyer's group should get to Hydra Island soon. Claire emerges from the bushes and hold's Miles' group at gunpoint and shoots into the sand. Through the walkie talkie, Kate hears that Claire is there. Claire assumes Locke has sent them there to kill her. To convince her this isn't the case, Richard tells her they can go home and be free of Locke. He invites Claire to join them but she refuses and leaves. As the quakes continue, Ben notices a large tree starting to fall and pushes Hurley out of the way, but the tree pins Ben down. Miles radios in that Frank is fixing the plane and they should get over there quickly. He also tells Kate that Claire is around but won't come. Ben says he knows how they can get to Hydra Island - that Locke has a boat.

The Man in Black stands on the cliff above the cliffside cave. The Elizabeth is anchored a short distance offshore. Before he can make it to the boat, Jack catches up to him. The two face each other for the final showdown. The two fight, and during the struggle the MiB picks up his knife and stabs Jack fatally under the rib cage. ♪ As the MiB tries to finish him off, Kate shoots him from behind. Jack stands up and kicks the Man in Black off the cliff to his death. Sawyer, Hurley, and Ben join Jack and Kate as the earthquakes continue. Ben says they should sail to Hydra island with MiB's boat. Jack, Hurley, and Ben decide to stay and attempt to undo what Desmond did, while Kate and Sawyer decide to sail to Hydra Island. The two groups share a final goodbye and part ways.

Meanwhile, Frank, Miles, and Richard prepare the plane. Kate and Sawyer swim ashore to Hydra Island and find a disconsolate Claire sitting on the beach as the Island continues to disintegrate. As the plane begins to take-off, Kate convinces Claire to join them and the three spring towards the runway. As Frank begins to accelerate, Kate, Sawyer, and Claire enter the runway and get on board the plane as it prepares to leave.

Hurley helps Jack make it to the Source. Jack tells Hurley that he will have to protect the Island now. Jack performs the same ceremony to Hurley and Jacob did to him in order to become the Island's protector. Ben and Hurley lower Jack into the Source, where he finds Desmond and carries him back to the rope so Hurley and Ben can retrieve him. Desmond asks Jack what will happen to him, and Jack replies that he'll see him "in another life, brother." Jack restores the stone cork at the cost of his life. The light returns and the water begins to flow again. Outside the Source, Ben consoles Hurley about Jack's immanent death. Hurley asks Ben to be his number two on the Island, and Ben accepts.

Jack awakens in a creek outside of the Source. Knowing that his life is ending, he slowly finds his way back to the bamboo grove. As he does, he passes by the white shoe, now worn, still hanging from the branch. He collapses in the same spot he awoke after the crash of Flight 815. Vincent lies down beside him. The Ajira plane then soars overhead, and he smiles, closing his eyes.

Flash-sideways timeline (2004)

After some minor disturbance, Oceanic Flight 815 continues its prescribed course to Los Angeles International Airport. Several things, however, are different from the way they should be. The Island is revealed to have been submerged at some point; Desmond is on the plane; Shannon is not; and Sun and Jin are unmarried. Charlie is found unconscious in the plane's bathroom, where he is saved by Jack, who discovers a bag of heroin lodged in Charlie's throat. Charlie, however, is ungrateful.

After landing, the passengers prepare to leave the airport. Jin's money for Mr. Paik's associate is confiscated at customs. Desmond interacts with Hurley and Claire on the way to his business limo, which is driven by George Minkowski. Jack and Locke meet at the missing baggage counter. Locke is missing his suitcase of knives, and Jack is missing his father's coffin. Locke comforts Jack in his loss, and Jack offers him a free consult regarding his paralysis. In the woman's bathroom, Kate escapes from Edward Mars and gets into an elevator. James Ford is inside, and he helps Kate elude two cops who get on the elevator. Kate enters a cab and holds its driver at gunpoint. The cab already has a fare, which turns out to be Claire.

After fleeing the airport, Kate eventually lets Claire out. With the help of a mechanic, she rids herself of her handcuffs, and returns for Claire. Kate and Claire visit the woman who promised to adopt Claire's baby, only to discover that her husband has left her and she is unable to attempt adoption. Claire prematurely goes into labor, and is brought to a hospital where Ethan assists her. Claire later covers for Kate when a detective questions her about her cab driver.

At the box company, Locke is confronted by his boss Randy about missing the conference in Sydney, and fires Locke. In the parking lot, Locke meets Hurley, the company owner. Hurley gives Locke the number for a temp agency. At the temp agency, Locke winds up with a job as a substitute teacher at a High School. At the school he meets Dr. Linus, who teaches European History.

Jack returns to work at the hospital. He has a son and is now divorced. Jack and his son don't have a strong relationship. David sneaks away to a piano competition, causing Jack to search for him. After the competition, Jack and his son have a conversation in which Jack, unlike what his own father said to him, assures David that "in my eyes, you can never fail."

Ben and his father left the Island when Ben was a child, and the two share a good relationship. While tutoring Alex Rousseau, Ben learns from her that the principal has been having an affair with the nurse on campus and attempts to blackmail him. The principal counters by threatening to torch Alex's college application, so Ben aborts his plan. The principal submitted a letter of recommendation for Alex.

After leaving customs, Sun and Jin reach their hotel and stay in separate rooms. They are secret lovers, and Sun plans for them to run away with the money in her private account. They are found by Keamy who demands his money. Sun is taken with Mikhail to pay for the deal. Meanwhile, Jin is taken to a restaurant and bound in the storage locker; the money was payment for Keamy to murder Jin.

Sayid visits his brother, Omer, who is married to Nadia; they have two children. Omer borrowed money from a loan shark and is unable to pay it back. The loan shark, Keamy, beats Omer and puts him in the hospital before abducting Sayid to the same place he is holding Jin. There, Sayid overpowers them and kills Keamy and his henchmen. Sayid finds Jin bound in the storage locker. He gives Jin a knife to get loose with before escaping himself. Mikhail returns with Sun and finds Keamy dead. Jin holds him at gunpoint but they engage in a shootout where Mikhail is shot in the eye and Sun is shot in the stomach. Sun reveals to Jin that she is pregnant as they prepare to go to the hospital.

James works as a detective for the LAPD with Miles as his partner. Miles sets Sawyer on a date with his father's co-worker at the museum, Charlotte. After the date, the two are at Sawyer's place. She accidentally finds a folder with information on Sawyer's parents death; Sawyer is enraged by Charlotte for seeing the folder, and orders her to leave. The next day, Miles confronts Sawyer about why he went to Australia, but Sawyer doesn't tell him anything. The day after that, Sawyer tells Miles about Anthony Cooper, the man responsible for his parents' death. At that moment a car, driven by Kate, smashes into their vehicle. A few days later, Sawyer goes to talk with Kate in the police station. Miles calls him over and tells him about the situation at the restaurant; video surveillance picked up Sayid escaping the scene. The two detectives to go Nadia's and catch Sayid as he tries to pack his bags and leave for good.

Desmond's driver, George, takes him to his employer, Charles Widmore. Charles assigns Desmond the task of babysitting Charlie so he can perform at Daniel's concert. Charlie wrecks Desmond's car in an effort to help him "see" what Charlie saw while he was choking on the plane, and Desmond has a quick "flash" to Charlie's death in the other reality. At the hospital, the MRI machine causes Des to have another flash, this time of Penny. Desmond tells Eloise Widmore that Drive Shaft won't be performing with her son. Eloise warns him about seeking out Penny, but her half-brother, Daniel, speaks to him about her and about the "other reality" to which Desmond "flashed." Desmond meets Penny while she's doing a tour de stade; as they shake hands, he faints but soon regains consciousness. They decide to meet for coffee in a couple of hours.

After Hurley is given an award, his mother tells him she has set him up on a blind date. At the restaurant Hurley meets a blonde woman named Libby, who talks about soul mates then asks if he remembers her. Her doctor interrupts and takes her away and they leave on a van headed for the Santa Rosa Mental Health Institute. Later, Hurley and Libby are having a date on the beach. When the two kiss, they each have "flashes" of their relationship on the Island in the "other reality." Desmond watches from afar. He then goes to the school where Ben and Locke work and runs Locke over with his car.

Desmond bumps into Claire in a building which house his lawyer's office and the adoption agency Claire is using. Desmond his lawyer, Ilana Verdansky, who had been looking for Claire in regards to a will reading. Jack and David arrive at the same building to have Christian's will read. They meet with Ilana, and Claire reveals that she was Christian's daughter. Jack then receives a call that he has to operate on somebody, and leaves with David.

Locke is rushed to the hospital with Ben at his side. Sun also arrives at the same time with Jin at her side. When she sees Locke, she suddenly says, "It's him, It's him!" in Korean. Sun recovers, and Jin assures her that the baby is fine. Jack performs emergency surgery on Locke, and he recovers with Jack at his side. Jack tells Locke he is a candidate for corrective surgery on his spine, but Locke refuses. Confused, Jack visits Locke's father, and discovers he is in a vegetative state because a plane Locke was piloting crashed. Locke is later discharged from the hospital, but Jack again asks him to receive the surgery. Jack says he should "let go", but Locke again refuses. Jack replies, I wish you had believed me. A few days later, after visiting with Dr. Linus, Locke will return and tell Jack to do the surgery on him.

A day or two later, Desmond poses as an Oceanic 815 representative and says that Christian Shephard's coffin is found. He also beats up Ben, causing him to experience "flashes". Desmond tells Ben that he wanted Locke to "let go". After this, Desmond turns himself into the LAPD. Detectives Ford and Straume put him in a cell with Sayid, which is next to Kate's cell. Meanwhile, Locke finds Ben at school, who turn tells him that Desmond wanted him to "let go." When Alex sees Ben's condition, Alex invites him to have dinner at her home. Alex's mother then tells Ben that he was the closest thing Alex had to a father.
Desmond, Sayid, and Kate are being transported by a police van when the driver, Officer Cortez, lets them go. Hurley arrives, gives Cortez $125,000, and takes Sayid. Desmond takes Kate and tells her that they will go to a concert (the benefit concert).

In Eloise's church, Desmond signs for the coffin of Christian Shephard which was actually found and returned to LA. When Kate asks about Desmond's true intentions, Desmond answers that no one can tell her why she is here in this place. He tells her his name and that although she doesn't realize it, he is her friend, and that what he wants is to leave. Kate asks where he wants to leave to and Desmond drives off to show her.

Hurley and Sayid arrive at the Flightline Motel to retrieve Charlie for the benefit concert. Hurley tazes Charlie when he refuses to come willingly. At the concert, Miles sees Sayid in Hurley's van and alerts James. James goes to the hospital to check on Sun. An the hospital, Sun & Jin meet Dr. Juliet Carlson, who also happens to be Jack's ex-wife and David's mother. She gives them an ultrasound. During the procedure, Sun & Jin each have "flashes" of their lives together on the Island. James arrives at the hospital and runs into Juliet at the vending machine. They flirt and reach for the same candy bar. As they touch, both James and Juliet have "flashes" of their lives together on the Island.

Jack had to cancel his plans to attend the concert, so Juliet, Claire, and David go without him. Later, at the benefit concert, Juliet is also forced to return to the hospital, so David and Claire go alone. They discover that they are sitting at the same table as Desmond and Kate. Pierre Chang introduces Drive Shaft along with Daniel. On stage, Charlie recognizes Claire in the audience. Claire goes into labor. During Aaron's birth, Kate, Claire, and Charlie, who left stage to help, all experience "flashes" of their true lives.

Hurley and Sayid sit in their car outside a bar, and they see a fight break out. Sayid goes to assist the woman involved, who turns out to be Shannon Rutherford. They both embrace and have flashes of their lives on the Island. Her stepbrother Boone Carlyle, who was on Flight 815, brought her back from Australia.

Locke wakes up from surgery, and having sensation in his legs again causes him to remember his life. He tells a confused Jack, who just experienced minor flashes but shook them off, that "I hope someone does for you what you just did for me."

Everyone who has fully remembered their lives is present at the same church. Jack arrives, still not fully aware, and Kate finds him. He experiences minor flashes again as they touch. He enters the back of the church, where his father's coffin is located. Christian appears and explains to a distraught Jack that "this place" was so they all could move on together. Jack, now finally aware, joins everyone else in the pews of the church. They all exchange warm greetings and fond memories as Christian approaches the back exit. He swings the doors open, and the church is slowly engulfed by a bright white light.

Everyone apart from Eko on the Season 6 poster featuring all the main characters from past seasons appeared in this season.

Season 6 maintains the trend of having five episodes each season with the title beginning with the word "the", with Seasons 2, 3, 4, and 5 also having the same number. The only exception is Season 1, which has only two episodes with the title beginning with the word "the". ("The Substitute") ("The Package") ("The Last Recruit")("The Candidate") ("The End")